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This early-morning view looks towards Monte Porzio Catone, a nearby ancient hilltop town developed by the Borghese family, who built the church of S. Gregorio Magno visible in Towne’s drawing.

Wilcox suggested that Towne’s work at Frascati shows his awareness of the tradition that Gaspar Dughet had a home there for the purposes of making early morning studies.1 He also pointed out the uniqueness of this work in being the only one known that Towne recorded as having been both drawn and coloured on the spot, noting also that the paper’s great absorbency made this viable.